Fredrik and Crew on Maiken

This is the cronicle of the adventures on the yacht Maiken. I hope you all have a good time reading it, and maybe it will bring some new thoughts into your head.

Friday, September 29, 2006

The Monster from the Deep

26deg21.178S 155deg30.471E

One day we're going to arrive in Brisbane, a few days ago we thought it would be Saturday, yesterday with the light (non existent) winds we realised it would probably be Sunday. Who knows it may take us another 3 weeks.

Light winds, hardly any swell, beautiful sunshine - now this is what I call a passage. People at work you'll see me sometime.

Vegetarians - don't read on.

It's been a day of wildlife, we've seen dolphins and a dolphin/whale creature with quite a square head. I know Janet B will know what it is. Then at sunset we caught a fish. A MONSTER FROM THE DEEP. I've never seen such a huge beast. It was freakin enormous. I swore quite extensively (which is what salty sea dogs do). Captain Freddie started bellowing orders - get me deadly knives, get me deadly hook. It's a fish he knows as a MahiMahi, it is sometimes called a dolphin fish or dorado, personally I think MONSTER FROM THE DEEP says it all. "We" got it up on board, and I tell you what I had my work cut out I had to avoid getting my dress splattered with blood, as well as keep the buckets of water coming. Blood everywhere. Off went its head and it was still the width of the cockpit. MONSTER FROM THE DEEP, MONSTER FROM THE DEEP. Sorry I'm hysterical.

Anyway Freddie cut off two enormous fillets and then we fed the rest to our resident brown birds. Tonight for dinner instead of having cabbage and onion, we started off with sashimi (yes there is wasabi on board), followed by chunk-of-monster lightly fried. The rest of the monster is in the fridge (yes we're allowed to turn the fridge on which means there is now champagne chilling). Tomorrow is declared national day of monster eating. Rock on!

***For the kidsThis story is for my young friends who like a story. Especially if it is a true story and ESPECIALLY if it is a true story written by red light (which it is). And the reason for the red light - at night when you're sailing you switch the lights to the special red setting and it means that it won't spoil your night vision.

Anyway last night when I was on watch, I was doing my usual check to make sure there were no boats about. There weren't. The moon had just set and that meant that the phosphorescence started. I don't really know what phosphorescence is - the best way to explain it is that when there are no other lights around (stars are ok) suddenly anywhere where there is movement in the water gets beautiful sparkling lights. Some places are sparklier than others and some nights are sparklier than others. This was a very sparkly night.

Later that evening I went to the toilet (on a boat it is called a head). There isn't a button to flush the toilet, you use a handle to pump sea water through. Anyway as I was pumping, I pumped a sparkly light down the head. It was most unnerving. Kids I think I flushed Tinkerbell down the toilet. I'm not sure whether she lived or not, but it makes me think we should rename the story Peter Bedpan. Then I started wondering about who the Lost Boys were and then I realised I was getting very rude and should stop.

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Day 9

How can you celebrate a birthday on day 9 of a passage? Day 9 where the only fresh food consists of cabbage, onion and a yellow cucumber.

First off get the cruise director to order up calm seas and friendly breezes (tick).

Then relax the stringent - no running refrigeration just for drinks rule.

Then have a cake baked.

Then be allowed a freshwater shower (SHEER MADNESS)

And THEN have chilled champagne served on the forward deck in an icebucket filled with cool seawater.

What a lovely birthday. And guess what the cabbage and onion mixed with tinned cornbeef and packet mash potatoes was fantastic too.

We know we're getting closer to Australia because Maiken is now shadowed by about 10 brown birds (sorry Mum I have no idea what they are).

The wind has died today (day 10) and we are motoring (and hand steering)and hoping that we'll be able to make it to Brisbane by Saturday (it is touch and go). If we don't make it to the waypoint in time then we'll have to do the boating equivalent of a holding pattern for 20 hours.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Sunning on the foredeck

Today was a day of light winds and gorgeous weather. Me and Jenny spent most of the day outside soaking up the sun. We spent yesterday, being Sunday in the church of the Reverend Johnny Cash and ended with an emotional (both crying, we had to take a break outside watching the sunset for a while in the middle) showcase of the movie Flight 93. Back to the sunning, Jenny just showed me her bright red nose as the result of a day in the sun. Well, the sun is setting and we have dinner plans, so this will be a short one.

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Surfs up

23deg29.936S 166deg10.113E

Yesterday the sun came out, the deck dried up and we were able to sit outside. The swell is now going with us which in one way is good (not getting waves breaking over the boat) but the roll isn't consistent, so your brains can roll out of either ear - then you have to spend half an hour running round trying to scoop them up and put them back in again. All very messy.

In the afternoon the swell got up. We've been sailing over a trench that is 5000m deep but during the afternoon we moved into 500m depth, because of New Caledonia and its barrier reefs. The swell became what I call MONSTERS FROM THE DEEP. Once I was convinced that we weren't going to DIE, it was fun. Maiken even surfed a couple for 20 metres or so. I also had a go at a bit of hand steering round this time (one of the lines on the magic wind steering gadget had chafed through so I steered while Freddie fixed). It took a little bit of getting used to but you had to really move the wheel to the right every time a wave came through and then ease right back after that (because then we'd jibe).

So it was a big day for us - we managed to cook a proper meal (roast chicken in the pressure cooker), we had a glass of wine at sunset ON DECK, and we passed New Caledonia (they didn't send a care package out with baguettes and foie gras so we're a bit miffed).

It's now Sunday morning - we've reached the halfway point to Brisbane. The sun has come up, my brains have just rolled out for the 3rd time this morning so I'm off to scoop them up again, Captain Freddie is sleeping in the forward cabin. We're cruising.

Friday, September 22, 2006

What a swell party this is

22deg.43.439S 168deg.18.275E

Well not quite a party but definitely a swell.

We're operating in our very own time zone. Yesterday we watched a breakfast movie and had chicken and mashed potato out of a packet (it tasted soooo good) and split a beer - and all by 9am. Happily I can tell you that we've cleaned up our act since the last post, the wind dropped away a bit, the sun came out and so it was time for a saltwater shower (dangle a canvas bucket overboard, wait for the swell to push you over that bit further and then bring heavy bucket back on board - oh and make sure you have a hold of something while you're doing this or else you'll fall overboard and be LOST). I think that I have potential to improve my style but I got there in the end. And that was the last of the good times - the wind got up again, big crunchy swell that keeps breaking over us. It's like being in a car wash and on some sort of amusement park ride at the same time. Anyway Maiken just keeps bobbing along. We had a tomato for dinner (we're almost out of tomatoes so it might be raw cabbage tonight).

Despite the crappy conditions we're going along ok - reading lots, watching movies, occasionally we even talk (mostly about what food we'll eat when we get to Brissy).

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Life on the Ocean

20deg.47.823S 171deg.19.193E

Well it doesn't take long for the thin veneer of civilization to be stripped away. No lying in the hammock sipping sunset drinks anymore. Freddie's getting quite a beard and is wearing a blueberry stained singlet. I'm sporting some spectacular bruises and have been in the same clothes for 3 days. I'm now pretty much over the seasickness of the first night (if you are going to throw up - throw up at night on a yacht, there is a quite spectacular phosphorescence display).

We were trying to work out how many days we had been at sea and the only way we could do it was by working out what we'd eaten - Monday - macaroni cheese out of a packet (here you go fishies), Tuesday lamb and salad (much calmer seas), Wednesday a tomato. Wednesday was quite a weird day which started off with no wind, so we motored and then moved into 20 knot winds with gusts up to 30. Before it got dark we took down all the fore sails and put a 3rd reef in the main. We don't have to steer - there is a piece of magic installed which does all that for us. We still have to check every half hour to make sure that there are no boats (since the first night we haven't seen any).

Mostly I've been sleeping and reading, although it feels like I'm on some sort of rollercoaster ride when I'm up in the forward cabin and if you do something stupid like sitting up in bed, the bookshelves are likely to break your fall as you hurtle portside. Bumped my head. The boat is handling the swell really well, we've got the sails set so she doesn't go too fast and we're pretty comfortable (although I'd love to be able to order in some Thai food).

Looking forward to some 15 knot winds and a shower on deck. Until then I'll remain the filthy sea dog that I am.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

First day on passage

18deg.52.104S 175deg.14.711EWell, if we keep this speed, we'll be in Australia in 10 days. Maiken is sailing along in over 6 knots, in fairly small sea. We do bounce around a bit, and as usual it takes a few day to get used to the motion. On this course, we will pass the southern tip of New Caledonia very close, and there is a small chance that we will stop there. Jenny is sleeping and I am reading, so it's a pretty normal day at sea. Fiji was one of the highlights on the trip, and it is easy to see why so many yachties come back year after year. We left Fiji through the Malolo pass right when the sun went down, and with a spectacular sunset our ocean passage began.

Monday, September 18, 2006

Fiji off the port bow

Captain Freddie is too busy stuffing his face with banana (and steering) to write but in between mouthfulls he says that he hoped you enjoyed the pictures.

The hanging baskets are full of fruit and vegetables, the fridge has been turned on (meat beer chocolate) and the dinghy has been stowed below (with the hammock).

We left Lautoka this afternoon when the dinghy finally ran out of fuel (it needed to be empty because it will be in storage for a while). This took a while - over three hours but it has ended up ok because we now have the tide working with us and we are romping our way southwest.

The stay in Lautoka was better than expected - we anchored across the bay near a very low key resort. The swimming was good, so were the deck chairs by the pool with a cold beer. There won't be much of that in the next couple of weeks so we made the most of it.

Saturday, September 16, 2006

New Pictures

Sunset at Navandra IslandPerfect little islandJenny underwayThe hike to the top of the mountain on WayaInspecting the caves where the islanders hide when there is a hurricaneBasket making with SimiEntering Yalobi BaySaweni BayUnderway to the YasawasJenny's first day

Some old pictures from Suva

Friday, September 15, 2006

Regatta party

Yesterday night it was the big final party of the Regatta, and me and Jenny sneaked in and had free drinks, good company, and good entertainment. There was this kid from Samoa that juggled fire like it was confetti, it was just one complete fireball. Today a lot of boats moved on, leaving for Vanuatu or trips around the island chain. Me and Jenny just hung out finishing small projects, enjoying life, and swimming of course.

Take care,

Fredrik

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Things I've learned -

1. The boat Clark Gable has been named that after Gone With the Wind. Why didn't I figure that out!2. That there is an engine living under the big step in the galley and the big step in the galley all pulls apart to reveal it. Like magic. Get that dirty engine out of my kitchen. There was an oil dipstick and I checked the oil and Freddie started to explain how until I gave him a quelling look. Occasionally the crew has to assert them self.3. Before going on a long passage it is essential to calorie load, so we're doing a buffet a day and approaching them as a marathon.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Back to Musket Cove

OK if you're in choppy sea - don't watch DVD's indoors - it is the equivalent of reading in the back seat of the car on a windy road. As Freddie was handing me the sea sickness patch to put behind my ear, he told me that it was skin coloured. Comfort indeed to know that it wasn't clashing with my oh so coordinated wardrobe.

It was a rolling night, the patch worked and it rained. We left early this morning and are now back in Musket Cove for a couple of days before doing the final stock up for the passage to Australia. We came in in a squall this morning but managed to moor despite the elements.

Freddie's kicking back watching Seinfeld, all is quiet and we'll be heading ashore shortly for dinner.

xxxJenny

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Talk about careful planning, we left the day before the beginning of the Regatta, and we come back on the day of the finale. Tonight is the party, and of course me and Jenny will be there even though we didn't do the Regatta. It feels good with a warm shower and a cold beer after a week of being depraved of them.

We have moved on

Well in a fit of madness we've finally moved from Yalobi bay. We were in a rut. The only question each morning was whether we'd have a coffee before or after the first swim of the day.

We've motored 10 miles south to Navadra Island (caught a fish along the way which has been turned into a red curry). It is uninhabited, has rich coral and is filled with mango and coconut trees. We snorkeled ashore and the lee side of the island was just stunning - the picture postcard version of Fiji.

The anchorage is getting a lot of swell. I even gave up the hammock because it was trying to hurl me into the sea. My prediction - not much sleep tonight.

Jenny

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We are rolling in a very beautiful spot. This bay is open to the North and the swell keeps creeping around the sides to make this a bit uncomfortable anchorage, but we have no wind so we are safe. We met another yachtie that told us about this place and its great snorkeling spot, and I must agree that the coral garden is good. Yalobi bay was great and we spent part of the day yesterday hanging out at the school watching the kids play. We will leave tomorrow to go to either Lautoka or Musket Cove to get water and fuel, and start getting us ready for the passage.

Monday, September 11, 2006

We conqured the mountain today

What a start of the day, a climb up to one of the peaks around the bay that we are anchored in. Fairly easy, as it has a face consisting of volcanic rock and low brush. The view was spectacular, and the swim after even more so. We have gained quite the reputation of spending most of our time in the water, we do at least five good long swims a day. Often we have to circumnavigate something, most of the time an anchored boat. It is hard to understand why most people on the other yachts don't do the same, as the water is lovely and the air hot. The people in the village seem to have a nice compromise between work and just enjoying the moment with their family, you often see parents just relaxing playing with their kids in the middle of the day. This village was one of the few that were spared from the measles epidemic that swept the Fijian islands about a hundred years ago, they are to this day very proud of that. Well, the last rays of the sun is disappearing behind the hills, and it is time to have some kind of drink before it is time for dinner.

Take care,

Fredrik

NOTE FROM JENNY - I'm just going to take issue with the words "fairly easy" for that mountain climb with no track. It was unrelenting. Straight up - with the loss of about 1 litre of sweat for every 100 metres climbed and we were almost thwarted at the end with a SPIDER INFESTED JUNGLE. Once I had forged a way through, Freddie took the lead up a cliff that was not possible for me to follow up (he is freakishly tall) and I had to find an alternate route. Anyway I say enough about measles epidemics in the village 100 years ago. I almost died TODAY and it was only swims 3 & 4 that saved me.

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Sunday, day of peace?

If you write the blog, you get the hammock. Hammocks and boats are the perfect combination - guaranteed rocking at all times. Computers on hammocks on boats somehow seems a bit decadent. If work would just send me a laptop I'd be prepared to do all the web reporting from on deck. I'd just be away an extra month.

It was church in the village this morning. Beautiful singing. Naturally we couldn't understand any of the ceremony, but gifted linguist that I am, I figured out that ameni translates to amen. I can also count to 5, so I'm really moving along. I spent most the time watching the kids. You know what - 9 year old elder sisters RULE. I can imagine some 9 year old friends of mine having an excellent time here. Every 9 year old girl seems to be in charge of an 18 month - 2 year old. They carry them, take them outside if they're being too restless and generally keep things on track.

We saw our young friend Pauline. She's about 3 and is the daughter of Tomasini (he performed the kava ceremony we went to a couple of nights ago). When Pauline walked in to the kava ceremony she was made to go round and say bula and shake hands with all the guests. As a 3 year old she was a little shy but looking at all the other kids in the village, that wears off pretty quickly. They are all so friendly and we have loads of helpers with getting our dinghy launched each time we come home from shore.

Freddie was very worried after the last blog, that his family would think that I was doing all the cooking while he lay around. I'll just set the record straight. Last night was the first time I cooked in the week I've been on the boat.

Sundays are not the days of rest they used to be - after an afternoon nap the cruise director insisted we take a dinghy trip to go snorkelling, then it was back for banana chocolate cake, then it was waving at all the new yacht arrivals (the rule is that Freddie spends his time keeping an eye on the horizon for any new boats but he doesn't wave - that's my job). In a moment now it is going to be sunset drinks, then dinner, then deciding what DVD to watch. When will I get time to relax?

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Another great day in Yalobi Bay

Today was almost an hectic day. After a very calm night and a beautiful morning with a swim around the neighborhood, it was time for a walk to the top of the island with the couple from the Canadian boat next to us. Simi lead the way up from the village, as he was going to pick up some cassava from his plantation anyway. Halfway up the hill, he cut away a palm tree branch that he carried along until he found a shaded spot under a mango tree where he easily whipped it into a basket for his cassava roots. Halfway up the mountain, he left us to ourself and it didn't take long until we were lost and had to give up the hope of reaching the summit. It was all good, eating our lunch under a mango tree overlooking the bay and reefs before beginning the trek down. When we entered the village, a women with her young sons invited us to put out our thirst with a green coconut from her garden, life is good. The afternoon was filled with swims and snorkeling around the reefs. Tomorrow is Sunday, and of course both me and Jenny will attend church in our Sunday best. Right now I am laying in the hammock while Jenny is cooking dinner, chicken, string beans, and cassava. The sun has gone down and on the beach you can hear the kids playing, and once in awhile you will hear the fish jumping around the boat. I would be very happy living this life for awhile.

Friday, September 08, 2006

Kava session on island Waya

Well, life is sweet. Laying in my hammock on the foredeck under a full moon. Me and Jenny have just come back from having spent the evening in the local village drinking kava and weaving mats with a group of very friendly Fijians. This village is the biggest on Waya Island and maybe the biggest in the Yasawas chain of islands, but there are only 300 people. We had to perform the sevusevu with the village chief when we arrived, giving him some really good roots of kava that I purchased while in Suva awhile back. It is so easy to like the Fijians, friendly, "back to nature" in a good way, and they really try to speak English. The village is also home to an boarding school for kids 6 to 14 from other islands nearby that lives at the school from Monday to Friday, and since today being Friday we witnessed the kids being pick up in small boats from other islands. It must be wild for such a small kids to be away from their parents for the whole week, on the other hand these kids have around a hundred other kids to play with every evening. We just motored here today from Saweni Bay on a flat calm ocean, filled with coral patches and small islands. We will probably stay here for a few days, since there are good hiking trails and good people. They grow a lot of fruits and vegetables here, so tomorrow we will follow our new friends to their gardens. Oh, I forgot to say that there are only three boats here, so we feel a bit special. We had a short but sweet trip to Suva to pick up my passport, but it feels really good to be anchored outside a small village. Walking through the village waiting for the full moon to come creeping over the steep hills around the village was really cool, the light of the sky with its stars balancing on the mountain ridges mixed together with the kerosene lamps in the village houses. Drinking kava is so much more a ritual then a way to get intoxicated, the effect is much like taking an aspirin. The only difference is that your mouth and lips gets numb. I do prefer a glass of wine any day to kava, but it would be nice if we somehow could work out a way to incorporate all the clapping of hands and sitting in a circle into our wine drinking.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Lautoka & Suva

The game show hostess - one of the toughest gigs going. Every Monday without fail, they are asked what they did on the weekend. It is in their contract that they must have done at least three perky, upbeat activities - rollerblading, art openings are on the agenda. One day one will say that they had PMS and stayed in bed with a hot water bottle. I will salute them. So when I say that we haven't been up to much I think I need to learn the game show hostesses art of spin...

There has been the unusual - being delayed from reaching the bar because we had to get rid of the fish that had jumped into the dinghy.

There has been movement - we motored from Musket Cove to Saweni Bay near Lautoka. Didn't sink. I held the helm for the first time in 8 years and didn't hit anything.

Freddie has also managed to get a 2 year visa to Australia. We're back from a 2 day trip to Suva to pick up the visa - it's a looooooong way. 4 hours on a bus each way. There were movies though and they made it seem like 5 hours. If ever you get the chance to see a Billy Zane movie with Robert Downey Junior in it - run like the wind.

Fiji is a little wacky - there is a certain element of Britishness - lots of pictures of the Queen and Phil the Greek in their 50's in all the official buildings. Lots of Indian restaurants with names like The Jolly Good Cafe. It's a bit boy scout. Lovely people, with charm though - everyone wants to know where we are from and to shake our hand.

We're all stocked up and about to head North to the Yasawa islands. We have an aim to avoid coral atolls. Don't tell Grandma. As she has pointed out already about this trip. I DON'T LIKE IT - IT'S NOT SAFE. I DON'T LIKE IT WHEN YOU GO ON BOATS.

Monday, September 04, 2006

Enter stage left

Having been reading this blog for 5 months, it is strange to suddenly be in it. Hakan will probably be having the same feelings about reading it. So Yacht Maiken now has an Australian aboard. For a while there I wasn't sure if I would make it. The flight over was uneventful. The transfer out to the island also went smoothly - in a plane so tiny it felt like being in a car with altitude. Freddie wasn't there to meet me though and that was because they'd brought me to the wrong island. By the time I made it back to the airstrip from the resort, the plane had returned to Nadi to get my luggage. Me, my luggage and Freddie, all on different islands. What I'm most amazed about is that we all managed to meet in the end. While I waited for the plane to return, I was taken on a tour round Mana Island. Then it was another flight to Malololai - my bag was in the back of the plane and Freddie was there waiting (he was told there was a delay with the plane).

I haven't sailed for 8 years and when I did it was on a 70 foot boat. I was wondering how I'd go in a smaller boat. It's all about ratios in the end. The Tree of Life was 70 foot with 7 people - that's 10 feet each. Maiken is 36 feet with two people. 18 feet each - luxury (but without the ice maker Kelly - so not true luxury).

Three reasons why I know I'm not in Melbourne any more:1. You get wet going to the bar2. We decide on the day of the week. Last night we decided that we probably really needed a second Sunday, so today was Sunday all day. Tomorrow is going to be Wednesday. I don't know what Wednesday will mean but it probably won't mean a 9am meeting in the cafe with the ecommerce team.3. When you go to the head your feet don't touch the ground and you have to brace yourself on the opposite wall.

On a final note - to my mother's sewing circle, luckily ladies, despite your surmising, so far it looks like Freddie isn't inclined to keep me in a locked cupboard. Happy quilting.

Saturday, September 02, 2006

Life Aquatic

Today is just a perfect day, the wind died down during the night and it doesn't get much better weather then this. There is an amazing amount of fish here; today I had an octopus swimming up to the boat (it totally changed color when I poked it), in the harbor where you park your dinghy there are just thick clouds of small fish that do their circle swimming deal. We are taking of thousands of fish that makes the otherwise turquoise water dark grey. It is easy to see why a lot of boats ending up spending weeks here, you have everything you need plus the socializing scene of other yachties. In a way it is much like English Harbor in Antigua, but not as many yachts and no charter boats. Well, Jenny Blake is flying in tomorrow morning, so now my lonely days are coming to an end.